"So cool…!"

Hinata Shōyō stared at Kaedehara Taichi, momentarily entranced. That dazzling confidence, that radiance—it made it impossible to look away.

"If only I could…"

"Shorty." Wallace turned to glance at him. "Jealous, aren't you?"

Hinata snapped his head up, the fire in his eyes suddenly flaring again.

"Yes. I'm extremely jealous."

"But I'll do it too."

"I'll get stronger—strong enough to light up others!"

"Is that so?" Wallace curved his lips into a small smile. "I think…we probably won't have to wait too long for that day."

"Huh?"

Hinata was so absorbed that he didn't catch the second half of Wallace's sentence.

"It's nothing." Wallace lowered his body, quickly shifting into game mode. "Let's focus on winning this fourth set first."

"We're in the lead right now!"

"Yes!"

-----

Service change—San Juan to serve, Taichi returned to the front row.

Conte's powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Hinata's forearm and bounced high, only a half-perfect reception.

Fernand quickly covered, Wallace and Yoandy both launched attacks from the left and right!

San Juan's front row block was forced to split up.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the left wing, far from Taichi. Wallace leapt up to spike!

Loser jumped for a solo block.

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed into the middle of San Juan's court and bounced high.

Wallace scored easily with his spike!

[San Juan 18 - 20 São Paulo]

Service change—São Paulo to serve.

"Beep! São Paulo requests a substitution."

"Luca Reilly IN, Hinata Shōyō OUT."

Coach Rezende made a decisive substitution—those two points had to be protected at all costs.

Hinata left the court reluctantly, exchanging places with Reilly.

In the past, Hinata had been a middle blocker. Because he couldn't receive well, he usually swapped with the libero when in the back row and couldn't stay on the court all the time. Now, as an outside hitter, he had become a vulnerability at the net. In critical moments, the coach still chose other players.

"I still have to get stronger!" Hinata exhaled a heavy breath, watching the court intently.

-----

Yoandy's powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Santiago received it, but the pass wasn't ideal.

Oikawa quickly stepped in and set the ball high to the right wing. Taichi soared to spike!

"Triple block!" Reilly, Wallace, and Souza all jumped up.

BOOM!!!—

Taichi twisted his wrist and spiked a sharp, tight cross shot just over the net.

Smack!

Sanhos picked it up!

Fernand covered, pushing the ball to the right wing.

"Trying to catch Taichi before he can reset for defence, and steal the timing with a quick attack?"

Yoandy jumped from the back row to spike!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi jumped up together.

"So fast?!"

Fernand's eyes widened in surprise—Taichi's recovery speed exceeded his expectations.

But Yoandy remained calm, tensed his arms, and unleashed the ball from behind his body.

BOOM!!!

The ball flew past Taichi's right side and hammered into San Juan's back row.

Smack!!

Bruno stepped on the three-meter line to receive it.

The ball flew out of bounds. Santiago chased it and managed to pass it back into play, but Conte, coming from the back row, couldn't send it over.

"Free ball!"

The ball floated to São Paulo's baseline. Fernand, without hesitation, pushed it up for a perfect first pass.

Yoandy stepped in as the secondary setter—São Paulo's entire front row launched a synchronised attack!

"Hold up a bit, Loser."

Taichi and Loser positioned themselves precisely along the net's one-third division, ready to block.

The ball flew high to the middle. Wallace soared up to spike!

"Double block!"

Taichi and Loser both jumped toward the middle.

—BOOM!!!

The ball flew over their hands and slammed into Santiago's arm in the back row, ricocheting out of bounds.

Wallace scored with a spike!

[San Juan 18 - 21 São Paulo]

—"A textbook example of Brazilian volleyball—São Paulo using multiple rounds of strong attacks to force an error and score a point!"

—"The gap has widened to 3 points!"

São Paulo continued serving.

Yoandy's second serve!

BOOM!!!

Bruno received it, a half-perfect pass.

Oikawa once again set the ball to the right wing. Taichi leapt to spike!

"Triple block!"

—BOOM!!!

Same choice, same trajectory.

Smack!!!

The ball hit Sanhos's arm and deflected out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored with the spike!

[San Juan 19 - 21 São Paulo]

"This guy…" Sanhos gave a wry smile. "He really doesn't know how to give up."

Even though São Paulo was in the lead, they didn't seem as relaxed as San Juan had been in the previous set.

Neither Oikawa nor Taichi showed a trace of panic on their faces.

Service change—San Juan to serve.

Oikawa's powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Yoandy received it steadily, Fernand pushed the ball directly to the middle at the net.

Another quick attack!

BOOM!!!—

Wallace's spike was blocked by Taichi's arm and bounced back.

Reilly saved it with one hand.

Fernand reset the ball high to the right wing. Souza leapt to spike!

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

The ball smashed into two arms and ricocheted back to São Paulo's side.

It wasn't Taichi.

Loser scored with a solo block!

[San Juan 20 - 21 São Paulo]

A one-on-one block kill!

"You punk!" Taichi praised. "Nice block!"

—"Souza's quick attack was completely stuffed by Agustín Loser!"

—"This is a big blow to São Paulo…"

—"San Juan is starting their counterattack!"

San Juan scored consecutively.

Oikawa's second serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Fernand's arm and popped high, only a half-perfect pass.

Yoandy stepped in to set—São Paulo's entire front row launched a synchronised attack!

"Again?!"

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the middle again. Reilly jumped to spike!

But this time, Taichi and Loser blocked in perfect sync!

"Double block!"

BOOM!!!

"Touched!" The ball bounced off Taichi's arm and went up.

"Chance ball!"

Santiago received it cleanly, perfect first pass.

Conte soared from the back row for the spike!

Souza jumped alone to block.

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Souza's arm and flew far out of bounds!

Off-the-hands out.

Conte scored on his second attack!

[San Juan 21 - 21 São Paulo]

San Juan instantly tied the score!

"Conte's fake swing and set in the last attack left a deep impression on São Paulo. They didn't dare to fully commit too many blockers this time."

"São Paulo's offence now seems stuck—they can't score directly…"

San Juan continued serving.

Oikawa's third serve!

BANG!!!

A jump float!

Yoandy received it cleanly, though only a half-perfect pass.

—"São Paulo's first pass is okay. Fernand organises the attack."

BOOM!!!

—"Wallace's spike got blocked again!!!"

—"Taichi is marking him so tightly!"

Reilly barely saved the ball. Continuous attacks being blocked—it felt like a rescue drill designed just for São Paulo.

Fernand quickly moved to cover, setting the ball high to the right wing.

Taichi and Loser moved laterally in perfect sync, their blocking more and more refined!

Souza jumped to spike!

"Double block!"

BOOM!!!

"——?!"

"The ball flew straight out of bounds!"

—"Souza seemed to aim for an off-the-hands shot, but Taichi read it!!!"

—"Taichi pulled his hands back in time—there was no 'hand' for Souza to hit!"

Souza's spike failed.

[San Juan 22 - 21 São Paulo]

—"After São Paulo's scoring run, now it's San Juan's turn for a scoring surge!"

"Beep! São Paulo requests a timeout."

"San Juan! San Juan! San Juan…!"

Inside the arena, the crowd rose in waves: "stand up—arms up—sit down," like a domino effect rapidly cascading in height, forming a human wave. The rhythmic cheers turned into a wall of sound, each chant making the floor tremble along with it.

"Damn it…it's like they've already won," Fernand said in frustration.

"Our first pass is solid. On offence, prioritise giving the ball to Wallace," Coach Rezende shouted. "Reilly drop back to the back row, cover Leal during reception as much as possible."

"Don't get scared by their blocks! No matter what, they only really have two major threats up front!"

"We must take this set!"

"Yes!!!"

-----

Timeout over. The game resumed.

Oikawa served his fourth ball.

—BANG!!!

Perhaps because Taichi was too eye-catching, many teams overlooked the fact that Oikawa himself was also quite the vicious one.

The ball floated unpredictably, drifting toward Souza in the front row!

"After all those errors…have they already crushed you completely?" Oikawa's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Souza's pupils shrank. His previously tense defensive posture suddenly froze. He stared desperately at the ball's erratic flight path, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

Suddenly, the ball dropped sharply without warning. Souza moved his hands to receive—

"Don't—"

He missed!

The ball curved past his trembling fingertips, landing precisely inside the sideline.

Thud!

Sanhos dove forward to save it but was too late.

Oikawa scored directly with his serve!

[San Juan 23 - 21 São Paulo]

"It's over."

Souza stood frozen, sweat dripping from his hair onto the floor, his vacant eyes locked on the scoreboard's changing numbers. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound—all he heard was the deafening roar of the arena and his own frantic heartbeat.

Oikawa's serve had shattered what remained of his confidence.

"Beep! São Paulo requests substitution."

"Alan Souza IN, Darlan Souza OUT."

"Such a miscalculation…that guy is ruthless," Coach Rezende muttered, glancing at Oikawa.

Originally, Rezende had chosen not to sub Souza out during the timeout, fearing a hit to the player's mentality. But he didn't expect Oikawa to target him so directly and deliberately—that single serve completely broke Souza's composure.

"What a bastard."

-----

San Juan continued serving.

Oikawa's fifth serve!

Another jump float—this time targeting the newly subbed middle blocker Alan!

"Underhand receive!"

Sanhos shouted as he rushed forward.

Alan hesitated for a split second—enough to miss the best chance to receive overhead. If he tried now, he might misjudge the ball just like Souza. Better to wait until it dropped and bump it up.

Smack!

Alan didn't make an error—he steadied himself and made a clean pass.

Seeing that Alan didn't need help, Sanhos stepped aside.

Fernand covered and pushed the ball high to the right wing. Wallace jumped to spike!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi both went up.

But Wallace faked! Yoandy jumped from the back row!

"Double block again!" Loser and Taichi both jumped a second time!

BOOOM!!!

The ball pierced through the block, slammed off Santiago's arm, and flew out of bounds.

Bruno chased it but couldn't bring it back.

Yoandy scored!

[San Juan 23 - 22 São Paulo]

—"They're still hanging on!"

—"São Paulo finally broke San Juan's serve after the substitution, fighting tenaciously!"

Service change—São Paulo to serve.

Alan's powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Alan's unfamiliar serve trajectory threw off San Juan. Oikawa barely received it, and the ball drifted near the baseline.

Conte moved in to set.

Whoosh!—

The ball went a bit too far—almost brushing the net.

"Net joust!"

This time, Loser stayed back. Taichi and Wallace both jumped up, pressing their hands against the ball.

Neck and neck!

Smack!—

Reilly's hands arrived just in time, pushing the ball back into San Juan's court.

Bruno protected it, Oikawa quickly repositioned, sending the ball to the left wing. Loser jumped to spike!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Lucas's arms and popped up high.

—"One-on-one block stopped it!"

"Free ball!"

Fernand passed the ball directly to the middle. Yoandy jumped from the back row!

Taichi went up alone to block.

BOOM!!!

A straight spike!

The ball dodged Taichi's block and flew into San Juan's back corner.

Smack!

Santiago saved it!

Conte stepped in as secondary setter and sent a perfect high ball to the middle.

Taichi jumped to spike!

"Triple block!" Lucas, Reilly, and Wallace all went up.

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed into Reilly's block and bounced back toward San Juan—

But it landed outside the baseline.

Block out!

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 24 - 22 São Paulo]

San Juan reached set point first! And still held a two-point lead!

Service change—San Juan to serve.

Loser's powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball flew precisely toward São Paulo's right sideline —

Smack!!!

Sanhos dove forward and miraculously saved it, but the pass went wild!

Wallace chased it beyond the sideline and sent it back in. Reilly jumped to spike!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both went up!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Ramos's arm and bounced out of bounds!

Conte saved it!

Oikawa quickly moved in to slow the pace.

Taichi stepped back for a long approach—then took off!

Whoosh!—

The ball soared perfectly in front of him.

"Triple block!"

Not enough.

—BOOM!!!

The ball soared over the block, smashed into Yoandy's arms, and flew out of bounds.

Sanhos chased desperately—but couldn't save it…

Taichi's off-the-hands spike scored!

[San Juan 25 - 22 São Paulo]

"BEEEEP!—"

The fourth set ended, and the final whistle blew.

No miracle, no suspense.

San Juan took the victory with a final score of 3-1.

Although it was a bitter defeat, São Paulo didn't earn any points from this match, leaving their chances of advancing extremely slim.

Yoandy remained expressionless—it was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his face.

"This court…it's always like this, burying countless people's youth," Wallace sighed as he looked at his dejected teammates. Then, his gaze shifted to Taichi across the net.

"But…it's also where legends are born."

_________